Cee El set for third marathon

EDMONTON, Alberta - A field of six long-winded horses has assembled for the meet's most arduous marathon challenge, the third leg of the Northlands Marathon Series here Saturday.

The race carries a purse of $21,300 and is contested at a distance of 1 5/8 miles, which will see the horses pass the grandstand three times.

Leading the way is Cee El, owned and trained by Danny Jones. A consistent but unspectacular sort, Cee El was campaigning in the mid-claiming ranks here before he was entered into the first leg of the series.

Sent away at 3-1 in the 1 5/16-mile opener, Cee El laboured to a sixth-place finish, six lengths behind the winner.

Still, Jones and rider Quincy Welch stuck with the program and Cee El rebounded wonderfully to take the 11-furlong middle leg by 1 1/2 lengths at 7-1.

While the winning margin was humble enough, 10 lengths separated the second- and third-place finishers.

The runner-up that day was the 4-year-old Deputy Spy. Trained by Robertino Diordoro for Rick Weist, Deputy Spy was actually leading by daylight as he and rider Desmond Bryan entered the stretch, but he was unable to withstand the winner's closing bid.

Deputy Spy had finished fourth in the first leg of the series.

Coming off a fourth-place effort sprinting for a $7,500 tag, Olympic Ride could be a threat if he has the heart and lungs for Saturday's trip.